Milling & Baking News - February 9, 2021 - 7

Editorial

Food ecosystem vitality eludes stock market

iven the extraordinary financial results of attributable to the pandemic. Startups focused on
many grain-based foods companies during meal kit solutions and e-commerce grocery have ben2020, the indifferent investment performance efited as have companies developing ghost kitchens
of publicly traded businesses in the sector was re- and other ways to bring eating out into the home.
markable. While many companies in the Grain-Based Finistere said 57% of capital deployed in the first nine
Foods Share Index compiled by Milling & Baking News months of 2020 went to these segments.
enjoyed the widest sales growth in years, even deAdditionally, investors were seen by Finistere " doucades, the index itself moved up only 3.7%. For grain- bling down on perceived best-in-class companies. "
based foods shares, 2020 ranked 10th in advances As a result, the investment totals were ballooned by
over the last 12 years.
several mega rounds (with financing in excess of $100
The seeming lack of investor interest in the food sec- million), including more than $300 million for Rappi
tor stood out not only in contrast to the overall stock (an online delivery company based in Colombia),
market, up 16.3% in the case of the
$400 million for DoorDash and $200
Ag tech overall has
S&P 500, but also was at odds with the
million for Impossible Foods.
record flows of capital directed to pri- been eclipsed in recent
Measuring the stock market perforvate companies in the food and agrimance of publicly traded packaged
years by investment in
culture sphere. In an interview, Farha
food and food processing companies
food tech.
Aslam, managing partner of Crescent
against the levels of funding going
House Capital and formerly a longtime investment into ag tech and food tech startups is not an applesanalyst, cited Finistere Ventures LLC data showing a to-apples comparison. Stock price movements show
record $11.6 billion invested in such companies dur- changes in the value of a share of a company while
ing the first three quarters of 2020.
funding levels of startups and maturing private comFor much of the early 2010s, venture investment panies demonstrate the breadth of investors' appetite
in the food and agriculture space was focused on ag for new businesses in the space without necessarily
tech versus food tech, according to Finistere. Capi- showing whether the value of such enterprises is ristal was deployed principally to businesses focused ing or giving ground. Additionally, of the $8.4 billion
on such areas as crop protection and precision ag- invested in food tech during January-September 2020,
riculture. More recently new ag tech funding has two thirds was directed to sectors such as e-commerce
gravitated toward animal health, automation and or delivery that were peripheral to food and ingrediindoor farming.
ents. The food products that fit into Finistere's food
Ag tech overall has been eclipsed over the last five tech definition that did attract funding were either in
years by investment in food tech, a designation refer- the plant-based and cell-based meat categories.
ring to food technology business (and that excludes
The trends underlying the food tech investment
many packaged foods startups). Finistere said ag tech surge certainly are not completely bypassing conaccounted for about $3 billion of investment funding sumer packaged foods companies, many of which
in January-September 2020 with more than $8 billion described dramatic growth in digital business in 2020.
going to food tech, up from $7.7 billion in all of 2019.
Still, the record food tech investments last year comPart of the surge in funding was explained by Finis- bined with the lethargic performance of grain-based
tere as an effort to ensure startups had adequate capi- foods shares point to the need for heightened attental to survive through the COVID-19 pandemic. But tion. While investors apparently believe the sales
Finistere said other forces were at play behind extend- surge in consumer packaged foods in 2020 will not
ing companies' operating runways.
endure after the pandemic, the food tech boom points
Investors reacted enthusiastically in private mar- powerfully to continued dynamism in the food induskets to food tech companies that experienced growth try for many years to come. MBN
WE'RE EAGER TO GET YOUR FEEDBACK: E-mail editor@sosland.com or write to us at
Milling & Baking News, 4801 Main Street, Suite 650, Kansas City, MO, 64112
EDITORIAL STAFF
Executive Editor, Markets
Neil N. Sosland
Editor
L. Joshua Sosland
Managing Editor
Eric J. Schroeder
Senior Editors, Markets
Jay S. Sjerven
Ron Sterk

Senior Editor
Jeff Gelski
Associate Editor, Markets
Matt Noltemeyer
Digital Media Associate Editor
Rebekah Schouten
Markets, Graphic Designer,
Purchasing Seminar Coordinator
Christina Sullivan

bakingbusiness.com
7 / January 2, 2018
/ world-grain.com
Milling & Baking News

007_MBN_February9_21.indd 7

PUBLISHING STAFF
Publisher
G. Michael Gude
Associate Publishers
David DePaul
Bruce Webster
Matt O'Shea
Sales Associate
Tom Huppe
Director of
Audience Development
Michael Barbee

Audience Development
Analyst
Dustin Pickman
Audience Database
Specialist
Jonathan Hawley
Audience Development
Coordinator
Carlea Schuler
Director of Digital Media
Jon Hall

Digital Advertising Manager
Carrie Fluegge
Advertising Manager
Nora Wages
Advertising Coordinator
Annie Fournier
Production Specialist
Marj Potts
Senior Design Consultant
Becky White

CORPORATE
Promotions Manager
Jim White
Promotions Media Designer
Abby Chronister
Sales Coordinator
Whitney Hartman

Chairman and CEO
Charles S. Sosland
President
L. Joshua Sosland
Chief Financial and
Administrative Officer
Staci Greco
Chief Operating Officer
and Executive Editor
Meyer Sosland
Chief Marketing Officer
Jim Saladin

Milling & Baking
bakingbusiness.com
News
February
/ world-grain.com
9, 2021 / 7

2/5/2021 9:07:54 AM

http://www.bakingbusiness.com http://www.world-grain.com http://www.bakingbusiness.com http://www.world-grain.com

Milling & Baking News - February 9, 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Milling & Baking News - February 9, 2021